Hello there and welcome! Remember our friend Jesse? He's learning to be independent,
and he's getting pretty good at doing things on his own, but he's feeling a bit sick today. That's
why he's resting in bed. Jesse has been getting a lot of rest, and he's also blowing his nose a
lot. Blowing your nose is actually a tricky skill to learn, but it's very helpful when you're sick.
This is our goal for today, to learn the right way to blow your nose!
Do you remember why it's so important to wash your hands?
That's right: germs! We can't see germs, but we know they can spread sickness. Germs can be on
your hands, which is why it's important to wash them off. Do you know where else germs can be?
Oh yeah, inside your nose. When you are sick, you might notice a lot of gross
snot and boogers in your nose. Here's another word for that gross stuff: mucus.
Mucus is the sticky and slippery substance that contains lots of yucky germs.
It's no fun having this gunk in your nose. It can get quite uncomfortable,
and it's important to know how to best get rid of this mucus when it's in your nose!
So what should we do? No, no, no, no! We should not pick our nose! That just
spreads the germs more. We need to blow our nose. Let's look at how we do it.
First, grab a tissue. Maybe they're kept in a bathroom or somewhere else around your home.
Some people might use a piece of toilet paper or something similar.
Next, blow your nose. This is basically just blowing air out of your nose. Of course, we're
hoping lots of that mucus comes out. Hold the tissue over your nose, but under your nostrils.
Hold it so it creates a pocket for the mucus to fall into. Then... blow!
Keep your mouth closed, so all the air comes out of your nose.
When you aren't sick, you can practice this by closing your mouth
and blowing air out of your nose. Put your hand under your nose to feel the air coming out.
If one side of your nose has lots of mucus, you can plug one nostril and blow out of the other
one. Be sure to do it with the tissue. It won't always be perfect, but hopefully, you'll be able
to get most of the mucus out of your nostrils and that uncomfortable feeling in your nose
will be gone. You can also push down on both nostrils to squeeze mucus out as well.
Then, dispose of the tissue in a trash can. To "dispose of" something means to get rid of it.
This is important because if you leave it somewhere, that spreads the germs that you
just got out of your nose! Before you hold the tissue, you should fold it in half so the mucus
is on the inside. Finally, wash your hands. Even though you used a tissue, it's still important
to wash your hands because your hands could still have germs on them after blowing your nose.
Good! Do you remember all the steps? First, we grab a tissue. Next, we blow our nose. Then,
we dispose of the tissue. Finally, we wash our hands. Nice job! Along with using a tissue to
blow your nose, you also should use a tissue when you sneeze, although sometimes sneezing into your
elbow will do. Just make sure you do your best to prevent those germs from spreading around.
Sneezing can really send germs flying! If we don't cover our mouth with a tissue or our elbow,
those germs can spread all over! A tissue can really save the day.
Great work! I think Jesse has earned his Expert Nose-Blowing badge!
Make sure you practice this skill when you have the need to blow your nose. See you next time!